At Frandroid, we are in favor of the fact that a television must be accompanied by at least a soundbar in order to enjoy a great experience, particularly for watching films, series and even listening to music. If dedicated speakers (not necessarily connected) are the ideal accessories for this latter activity, your ears should thank you for associating good sound with a beautiful image.
A booming market and the Sony solution: the Trio
Recently, we can say that the market for wireless home theater systems has been profoundly transformed. Faced with solutions like the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar, the recent Bose Lifestyle Ultra or multi-speaker systems from LG and Samsung, Sony has chosen to fundamentally rethink the architecture of its high-end offering. The Bravia Theater Quad system finally has a successor. It bears the name “ Trio ».
While the Theater Quad relies on four speakers arranged around the listener (with the possibility of combining one or two subwoofers), the Bravia Theater Trio adopts a three-element configuration: a center speaker and two front left and right speakers, all three optimized to offer a wide soundstage from a compact front layout.
Here too, it is possible to combine one or two subwoofers, notably the Bravia Theater Sub 9 (or SA-SW9) which was made official at the end of last March alongside the Bravia Theater Bar 7 HT-A7100 and Bravia Theater Bar 5 HT-B500 soundbars, and the Bravia Theater 8 (SA-SW8) subwoofer. Also note that the SW5 subwoofer will also be compatible, via an update. It’s the same thing with the Sony RS5 surround speakers (always with an update).
The central speaker can be compared to a soundbar. Note a certain similarity in design with the particularly compact Sonos Ray soundbar. The other two speakers are relatively massive with a little over twenty centimeters in height. They integrate front speakers, but also a transducer oriented upwards for ceiling effects.
Immersive and calibrated sound
The idea of the Trio pack is to respond to the impossibility of placing speakers in a configuration surrounding the living space. According to Sony, the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping (360SSM) technology integrated into this system aims to overcome this limitation by generating up to 24 virtual speakers, thus creating a multidirectional sound field without requiring complex wiring or positioning. Unfortunately, having listened to the system, you have to recognize that there are indeed side effects, but not at the rear, these cannot be replaced by physically present speakers.
To fine-tune the calibration for each environment, the Bravia Theater Trio integrates a high-performance USB Type-C microphone, newly added to the range and to be connected to a smartphone running Android or iOS. It allows simple and precise automatic calibration of the room, by measuring the acoustic characteristics of the space to adapt the sound processing accordingly.
Designed with the sound creators of Sony Pictures Entertainment
One of the specificities claimed by Sony for the Bravia Theater Trio is the development process itself. Indeed, you should know that the system was designed from its first stages in collaboration with the sound creators of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The idea is to try to ensure that home audio output reflects the artistic intentions of the teams responsible for mixing film productions.
Andrew DeCristofaro, sound designer at SPE, emphasized, during the official presentation of the Trio in Weybridge, that it allows us to perceive “ the details, movements and balance as they wanted them to be perceived ».
Formats audio et extensibilité du système
In terms of compatibility with industry standards, the Bravia Theater Trio supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced formats for compatible content, thus covering the entire high-end streaming and Blu-ray offering available on the market.
In addition to the possibility of adding subwoofers, note that the system can be associated with Bravia Theater Rear 9 rear speakers.
Additionally, note that the Direct Connect feature allows compatible Bravia TVs (Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II) to pair directly with wireless subwoofers and rear speakers, without the need for an intermediary soundbar.
Availability and price of audio systems Sony Bravia Theater Trio
The Bravia Theater Trio three-pack of speakers is available for pre-order. It will be priced at around 2,000 euros. Sony must market, in certain stores, packs including the Trio system associated with a Bravia Sub 8 subwoofer and Bravia Theater Rear 9 surround speakers.
